The invention relates to a double clutch transmission, which has two countershafts arranged coaxially with respect to one another, and to a method of shifting such a transmission.
Such a double clutch transmission is already known from the publication by Tenberge, P.: “Doppelkupplungsgetriebe in Windungsanordnung” [“Double clutch transmission in a winding arrangement”], VDI-Seminar No. 31 03 01 “Stufenlose Fahrzeuggetriebe” [“Continuously variable vehicle transmissions”], Stuttgart, 2001.
DE 103 25 647 A1, not yet published, likewise already shows a double clutch transmission in a winding arrangement. In this, however, the countershafts are arranged parallel to one another.
Furthermore, double clutch transmissions are known from EP 0 883 785 B1, DE 101 02 028 A1, WO 00/39484, U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,171 B1, DE 199 39 334 A1, DE 198 21 164 A1, DE 101 08 881 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,547 B1.
The double clutch transmissions described in these publications have various disadvantages. Thus, some double clutch transmission concepts have a relatively large overall length. Furthermore, in most cases, only one reverse gear is implemented.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an axially short double clutch transmission, which is free of interruption in traction during shifting and which has a relatively high number of gears, particularly for use with commercial vehicles.